Budget 2018: Government may announce National Agriculture Export Policy

To arrest the decline in farm exports, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may announce a National Agriculture Export Policy in the upcoming Union Budget. 

The Finance Minister will be presenting the Union Budget 2018-19 on February 1, 2018. 

Through the new policy the government is likely to make strategic changes to the food export basket that may help in increasing the income of farmers. Cotton, Rice and Sugar are the major components of the Indian Agri Export basket.

Sources told Zee Business that under the new policy, farmers will be able to directly sell their produce in the export market through a web portal.

National Agriculture Exports policy is being planned in the backdrop of a decline in agriculture based export and increase in import. Between 2014-17, the agri-export fell by 22 percent, while, imports have increased by 62 per cent. 

Between April and October 2017, import saw an unprecedented increase of 18 per cent.